Judge dismisses GAO lawsuit against Cheney task force

U.S. District Judge John Bates Monday dismissed the lawsuit filed by the General Accounting Office against Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force.

Bates said the case filed by Comptroller General David Walker against the vice president is an unprecedented act that raises serious separation-of-powers issues between the executive and legislative branches.

"No court has ever before granted what the comptroller general seeks," wrote Bates, a Bush appointee who added that the comptroller general "does not have the personal, concrete and particularized injury required" under the Constitution and that "his complaint must be dismissed."

GAO filed the lawsuit seeking access to documents about the meetings Cheney held with business executives when they crafted the Bush administration's energy policy proposal in 2001. It was the first time GAO had sued the executive branch.

GAO sought to force the administration to identify the executives-including some from now-collapsed Enron Corp.-who met last year with the task force while a national energy policy was being developed.

Bush refused to hand over the documents, saying to do so would obstruct his ability to get outside views. The White House also argued GAO had overstepped its authority by asking the vice president for information on the task force.

The dispute began in April 2001, but gained political traction once Enron entered into bankruptcy a year ago.